Murtha does not have the trust of all in our military

In response to your Nov. 24 editorial "Insider's View: Murtha May Also Be Speaking for the Military": President Bush and Vice President Cheney did not slam U.S. Rep. John Murtha. I listened to Mr. Murtha's TV speeches, and he said things he should not have said that helped the morale of the enemy and hurt our troops' morale. What gives you, the Post-Gazette, the right to state that Mr. Murtha is "the congressman who is perhaps closest of all to senior military officers"? Did Mr. Murtha tell you this?

Again you bring up Mr. Bush's and Mr. Cheney's lack of military service, and Mr. Murtha's distinguished military record. My military record is 10 times better than Mr. Murtha's, and it does not make me an expert on military matters, even though I spent 25 years on active duty in the infantry and, yes, in Vietnam and Korea.

Mr. Murtha does not have the trust of all soldiers and veterans. I had the utmost respect for Mr. Murtha until he made his stupid speech; then he lost me and many, many more.

Yes, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Erik Shinseki was shafted for stating what he thought were facts and opinions.

Tell me, PG, who started this thing? How about Marine barracks in Lebanon, embassies in Africa and other places, the World Trade Center, Sudan and Somalia? Now all the people who want to cut and run better think about what will happen in the Middle East and around the world and here in this country if we don't see this thing through till the end.

Whether you people like it or not we are in a major war and had better win it now. I sure don't like some of the things Mr. Bush has done, but he is not all wrong. I'm a Democrat and support him and our troops in this war and recommend you people do the same until it's over. Get over it -- the man's our president, so for the time being, show a little common sense and courtesy.

Speak out all you want, but do it in the proper way and without hate.

THOMAS H. WALMAN
Crafton Heights
Editor's note: The writer is a retired Army command sergeant major.

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Agenda of fear

I'm writing in response to Bill Hoagland's Nov. 27 letter about the war ("Little Substance"). Mr. Hoagland asks, "Why do so many people believe what those with an agenda tell them?"

As a "liberal," I often ask the same question. It seems to me that our "agenda" on the left is to curtail the loss of life and find those who actually attacked us and bring them to justice. While many of those on the left protesting are college students or aging hipsters, they are accompanied by nuns, priests and other religious leaders who don't let politics blind the teachings of their faith. What is the agenda of a nun? What is the agenda of a college student?

Meanwhile, those pushing to "stay the course" have their own dangerous agendas. What are these agendas? Everything from oil profits to military contracts to expansion of powers to limiting liberties and more. The left doesn't fear winning the war; in actuality it is the conservatives who fear it. Without the vague idea of the "war on terrorism," the conservatives cannot keep most Americans paralyzed in fear.

The true war on terror is in Afghanistan and against those who attacked us, not those our leaders have personal vendettas against.

R. MARMURA JR.
Moon

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A growing list

Wow, the Post-Gazette's Nov. 25 editorial and op-ed pages included commentaries about another giant corporate decision to eliminate more jobs and opportunities for Americans ("Bitter Medicine: General Motors Makes Painful Cuts to Save Itself," editorial); the reprehensible activities of Jack Abramoff and too many members of Congress ("Capital Sewer: The Abramoff Case Is Washington at Its Worst," editorial); and the amazing speed at which U.S. Rep. John Murtha was "swift boated" ("Ripple Effect: John Murtha Is Wrong, But He Forced the Bush Team to Show True Colors," Leonard Pitts Jr. column).

The attacks on Rep. Murtha were done with a speed witnessed only when the actions or policies of George W. Bush and company are challenged or called into question -- a speed remarkably absent in this administration's investigations of Enron's Kenneth Lay, the anthrax mailings and who leaked CIA information, to name just a few unsolved mysteries.

The citizenry has a pretty successful "do not call" list ... perhaps we should start a "do not trust" list beginning with President Bush, Vice President Cheney, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Rep. Tom DeLay, Sen. Rick Santorum, corporate CEOs, etc., etc., including the once-revered Supreme Court.

MARTY WEIXEL
McCandless

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America's ruination

Don't look now, America, but the wrecking ball is coming at you fast and furious. Keep buying those Hondas and Toyotas; keep shopping at Wal-Mart and the dollar stores; keep buying appliances made in China and Japan; keep buying from corporations with customer service in Bombay; keep buying apparel made in China; keep buying seafood from Asia and South America.

Keep it up and in 10 to 15 years the good old U.S. of A. will be a Third World country (thank God I won't be around 'cause my 73 years have seen the best of this great nation).

Oh, yeah, keep supporting a government that is being financed by China. But heck, we still have abortion, guns and our good ol' moral values on our front burner.

CHICK DINOVITZ
Scott

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Greening our city

Thank you for focusing attention on the problems associated with vacant lots and abandoned properties ("Cutbacks Leave City Property Untended," Nov. 20). It is frustrating that city cutbacks contribute to these problems at a time when neighborhood revitalization is so crucial to our economic recovery. Clearly this is an issue that needs to become a priority in the next administration.

In the meantime we can begin to ease these problems by recycling vacant land for community use. Blighted properties that decrease property values and attract crime can be put to productive use by schools and community groups that will then be held responsible for their maintenance. GREENLOTS, a recently formed, not-for-profit organization, facilitates this recycling process and provides technical assistance to community groups seeking to develop vacant lot projects on city-owned properties.

We're currently involved with school garden and community park projects in the East End, and we're working with local universities interested in utilizing vacant lots for research and design projects.

One of the best ways for Pittsburgh to lose its "Smoky City" image is to become the national leader in greening. This would include not only green buildings, clean rivers and a glorious city park system, but also the greening of vacant lots in underserved neighborhoods.

Lot recycling may not be a big-ticket initiative that draws people from outside the region, but it will show that we care about the economic and environmental health of our residents. It will also show that we know how to turn problems into opportunities. More information can be found at www.greenlots.org.

DANAE CLARK
Executive Director
GREENLOTS
North Point Breeze

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Not winter yet

The Nov. 25 headline on Page A-1 said, "Holiday Feels Winter's First Blast." Oops!

On Page C-7, in a column by Rob Owen ("Annual List of Hard-to-Digest TV Turkeys," Nov. 25), a viewer's e-mail assails a Channel 11 promo that begins, "Winter has arrived ..."

As the e-mailer said, "Hell, any second-grader with a calendar knows" that winter begins Dec. 21.

FRED BREWER
Hermitage

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Restaurants should provide safe indoor air

The Nov. 18 article on restaurant inspections provided an interesting look at restaurant safety in Pennsylvania ("Audit Finds State Lax on Restaurant Inspections"). According to Patrick Conway of the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association, "Nothing could be more important to restaurants than ensuring they're serving a safe and good food product to their patrons."

Unfortunately, this concern for safety doesn't extend to the indoor air of Pennsylvania restaurants. The association is opposed to state Sen. Stewart Greenleaf's smoke-free workplace bill (SB 602), which would ensure a safe indoor environment for employees and customers.

At a public hearing in Harrisburg in September, Mr. Conway testified against the bill and endorsed the status quo. The current law is not working for many restaurant and bar workers, who are exposed to thousands of chemicals and dozens of carcinogens in tobacco smoke pollution. Although some claim that separate sections and ventilation can solve the problem, the American Society of Heating, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineers has concluded "adverse health effects [of environmental tobacco smoke] ... cannot be controlled by ventilation."

Unfortunately, some restaurant owners still believe the baseless claim that smoke-free laws hurt business. But as shown by numerous studies of clean air laws worldwide, this is simply not true. For example, New York City showed a 9 percent increase in sales during the first year of its comprehensive smoke-free law.

Our organization provides a list of completely smoke-free bars and restaurants in southwestern Pennsylvania: www.NoSmokeDining.org. Safe food is only as good as the environment in which it is served.

GREG HARTLEY
Assistant Director
SmokeFree Pennsylvania
Franklin Park